The fall of Alex Olaba, a once celebrated Kenyan Rugby player

• Alex is an Ex-Rugby player
• He played for Kenya Harlequins
• He was jailed for threatening to kill a key witness in the rape case

Alex Olaba is a former Rugby player who played for Kenya Sevens and Kenya Harlequins but ended his stellar career in controversy.

Olaba was always a  bright child in school and he performed exceptionally well in his primary school to bag an admission at the prestigious Alliance Boys’ High School. He played for:

• Pan Africa Strathmore Leos
• Played for Kenya 7s and Kenya Under 19
• He then moved to Kenya Harlequins

What Happened to Kenyan Rugby Player Alex Olaba?

The former Kenya Sevens and Kenya Harlequins player found himself in the hands of the law over a gang r@pe case four years ago alongside his former teammate Frank Wanyama. The r@pe offence was allegedly committed on February 11 2018 at an apartment in Highrise, Nairobi.

Alex Olaba. Photo/Nairobi News

The duo was charged at the Milimani Law Courts being released on a cash bail of Ksh.300,000 each. Olaba and Wanyama were found guilty in 2018 and sentenced to 15 years in jail. However, they appealed against the sentence as the High Court rejected the verdict on a legal procedure, ordering a retrial.

Why Was Alex Olaba Jailed?

On Wednesday, May 24 2023, Olaba was again in court, not for the r@pe allegations but because he plotted to kill a prosecution witness in his case. Olaba appeared before a city magistrate, Geoffrey Onsarigo who sentenced him to serve eight years in prison.

The verdict was released on finding Olaba guilty of attempted murder and interfering with witnesses in the gang rape case that was pending in court, alongside Frank Wanyama who is a former Kenya Rugby Seven player.

As he made the verdict, the magistrate noticed that the accused was remorseful and promised never to repeat such a thing in the coming days but he ruled that the reason for his verdict was to warn and keep off any other person who intended to commit such a crime.

The player was sentenced to serve six years in prison on the count of conspiring to commit conspiracy to kill a witness in the gang rape case and on the second account, for interfering with the judicial process. The magistrate ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.

Alex’s sentence was released on May 10 2023 after the court found him guilty of attempting to k!ll the main witness in his r@pe case. As the magistrate read his sentence, he said that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

During the hearing of the case, the prosecution witnesses told the court that he made several attempts to contact a state witness in the gang rape case to interfere with his trial. He did this both directly and indirectly. On failing to get a positive response on how to silence the witness, that is when Olaba resorted to unlawfully using desperate means.

Why Was Alex Olaba Arrested in 2022?

In 2022, Olaba was arrested at Madaraka estate in Nairobi by detectives when he was planning on how to execute the said witness.

Alex Olaba. Photo/The Star

He was on the lookout when the police were alerted that he approached another party asking for advice on how to eliminate the witness in his gang rape case, the police told the court.

The third party who was approached by the player to help him eliminate the witness happened to be an undercover officer, as was said by the prosecution.

It was alleged that on diverse dates in April, Olaba and other suspects jointly conspired to kill the state witness. In addition, the second count states that in the same month, Olaba interfered with the judicial trial process in the gang rape case by attempting to kill/cause the death of the main witness.

Olaba has an opportunity to appeal against the verdict which can be done by his lawyer. In his mitigation, Alex pleaded through his lawyer Cliff Oduk, saying that he represented Kenya internationally in Rugby competitions and was remorseful.

The player pleaded to say that he was the firstborn in his family and that they were all dependent on him, and a first-time offender requesting a lenient sentence. The sentence is a big blow to Olaba as this will completely ruin his career and reputation.